The present invention relates generally to equipment utilized and operations performed in conjunction with a subterranean well and, in an embodiment described herein, more particularly provides casing expansion and formation compression for permeability plane orientation.
It is highly desirable to be able to accurately orient planes used for increasing permeability in subterranean formations. If the increased permeability planes can be directed in predetermined orientations, then greater control is provided over the propagating operation, enhanced stimulation is obtained, and propagating and associated stimulation operations may be more economically performed.
It is known in the art to install a special injection casing in a relatively shallow wellbore to form fractures extending from the wellbore in preselected azimuthal directions. A fracturing fluid is pumped into the injection casing to simultaneously dilate the injection casing and fracture the surrounding formation. Unfortunately, this technique is not as useful when a significant overburden stress exists in the formation, since it is also known that a fracture will preferentially propagate in a fracture orthogonal to the lowest stress vector in the formation.
Therefore, it may be seen that improvements are needed in the art. It is among the objects of the present invention to provide such improvements.